Changes will expand Board to better meet College's needs and retain alumni
role in governance
Board also reviews academic programs and adopts statement of commitment to
maintaining Dartmouth's academic excellence
The Dartmouth College Board of
Trustees has adopted a series of measures to strengthen the governance of
the College. The Board's actions, which were taken at its annual September
retreat, follow a comprehensive Governance Committee review of the composition
and size of the Board as well as the method of selecting Trustees. These
actions include:
- Expanding the Board from 18 to 26 Trustees, preserving the current number
of Trustees nominated by alumni at eight and adding eight Charter Trustees—to
involve more alumni in Dartmouth's governance and bring additional skills,
capabilities, and expertise that can help meet the needs of the College.
- Retaining Dartmouth's unique alumni-driven nomination process and contested
ballot election system, to ensure alumni continue to have a direct voice in the
College's governance.
- Charging the Alumni Council and Association of Alumni
with developing a simpler and fairer Trustee nomination process to address the
divisiveness and politicization of recent elections.
- Increasing the Board's direct engagement with academic affairs, alumni
relations, and student affairs by adding new standing Board committees focused
on these critically important areas.
 "What has made Dartmouth such an enduring and
successful institution is that its history has not been one of resisting
change, but rather one of adapting to meet new challenges and needs, while
still preserving what is unique and special about the College." Governance
Committee of the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees (Photo by Joseph Mehling
’69)
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In commenting on the governance changes, which he outlined in a Sept. 8 letter
to the Dartmouth community, Chairman of the Board Ed Haldeman '70 said,
"Dartmouth has never been stronger than it is today. But like all our peers,
we're confronting new challenges and pressures-including increasing competition
for the finest students, the best faculty, the most qualified Trustees, and the
financial resources needed to support the College. These governance reforms
will expand the Board to help us meet those challenges-as we look to maintain
and build on Dartmouth's preeminent position in American higher education. And
they will preserve the unique role that alumni play in our governance process,
without further fueling the destructive politicization, costliness, and
divisiveness of Trustee campaigns that threaten to harm Dartmouth. They are
driven by what the Board believes is best for Dartmouth and its students in the
21st century."
In conducting its review of these issues, the Governance Committee, chaired
by Trustee Christine Bucklin '84, solicited and received feedback from
thousands of Dartmouth alumni, faculty, parents, students, and staff-via
e-mail, through the College Web site, and in one-on-one discussions. The
committee sent a detailed questionnaire to current and former Trustees, alumni
volunteer leaders, and senior administrators to solicit their views on the
College's governance. The committee also evaluated practices at peer
institutions and spoke with leading experts in nonprofit and collegiate
governance. In total, the committee spent hundreds of hours over the summer
carefully reviewing and discussing the input they received from throughout the
Dartmouth community, and developing a set of recommendations regarding the
strongest possible Board for Dartmouth. A copy of the Committee's report to the
Board is available online. Prior to the
Board's consideration of the report, President Wright informed his
Board colleagues that he was recusing himself from the deliberations and voting
on this matter in order to remove any possible question about his role in the
Board's actions.
Expanding the Board to involve more alumni in Dartmouth's governance and
better meet the needs of the College
The Board voted to expand the size of the Board from 18 to 26 members to
involve more alumni in the College's governance and ensure it has the broad
range of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and capabilities needed to steward an
institution of Dartmouth's scope and complexity. Dartmouth currently has one of
the smallest boards of any peer institution-with only 18 members versus an
average of 42 at other comparable schools-and the Governance Committee
concluded that this was putting the College at a competitive disadvantage
versus its peers. By adding eight Charter Trustees nominated by the Board,
Dartmouth will still have a smaller Board than many of its peers, but the Board
will have more flexibility to add Trustees who offer the specific talents and
experiences that the College needs, which elections don't ensure.
Retaining Alumni Trustee elections and reaffirming the important role of
alumni nomination of Trustees in the governance process
The Board determined that it would retain the significant number of
alumni-nominated Trustees on the Board as well as the contested ballot election
process that the College has used to select them. Dartmouth has the highest
proportion of alumni-nominated Trustees of any peer institution, and is one of
the few schools that selects Alumni Trustees via contested ballot elections.
The Board believes that having alumni-nominated Trustees and elections gives
Dartmouth's alumni an important direct voice in the College's governance and
fosters greater alumni involvement in the College. Under the changes adopted by
the Board, Dartmouth will continue to have one of the most democratic Trustee
election processes of any college in the country.
Haldeman, in commenting on the balance between Trustees nominated by alumni
and those nominated by the Board, said, "We will continue to have a significant
number of Trustees nominated by the alumni, but given the divisiveness of
recent elections, we did not believe that having more than eight Alumni Trustee
elections would be good for Dartmouth. We also believe that the Board needs
more Trustees selected for the specific talents and experiences they can offer
the College, which elections can't guarantee. We will still have more
alumni-nominated Trustees than most other schools and the opportunity for
regular contested elections. But we think this is the best balancing of
Dartmouth's interests."
Returning to a fairer, simpler Alumni Trustee election process
The Board adopted reforms designed to address what the Governance Committee
described as the increasingly divisive and expensive electioneering that has
characterized recent Trustee elections. The Alumni Council will nominate no
more than two candidates (instead of the current three) for each Alumni Trustee
vacancy. Petition candidates would continue to be allowed and the process for
petition candidates could not be made any more restrictive. The Trustees also
required that winning nominees receive an absolute majority of votes cast and
replaced the approval voting system, which was confusing for some alumni, with
a fairer and more democratic "one person, one vote" system. The Committee cited
the "churn and burn" aspect of the current nomination process-which has
unnecessarily pitted some of the College's most committed, involved, and
capable alumni against one another-as one of the key reasons to adopt these
changes.
Improving the Board's operations and direct engagement with academic
affairs, alumni relations, and student affairs
The Board also took a number of steps to improve the operations of the Board
and enhance direct engagement with alumni and other stakeholders. It created
new standing Board committees for academic affairs, alumni relations, and
student affairs that will help drive more direct communication and engagement
with these important constituencies. The Board also voted to appoint a vice
chair; expand the Executive Committee to include the chairs of all standing
committees, in addition to the chair and vice chair; and adopt Board
bylaws.
Quoting the Governance Committee Report, Haldeman said, "What has made
Dartmouth such an enduring and successful institution is that its history has
not been one of resisting change, but rather one of adapting to meet new
challenges and needs, while still preserving what is unique and special about
the College. That is why a Board originally composed of twelve New England men,
half of them members of the clergy, today consists of eighteen men and women
from many parts of the country and walks of life. That is why Trustees who once
served for life now serve four-year terms. And, that is why elections once open
only to 'graduates of at least five years standing' are now open to all alumni.
In these and many other respects, Dartmouth's Board has made fundamental
changes to its governance structure and procedures throughout the College's
history. The changes we're making today are no different. They are necessary to
ensure the College continues to meet the new competitive challenges it
faces-and builds on Dartmouth's preeminent position in American higher
education."
Board also conducts review with academic deans and adopts statement of
support for academic priorities
In addition to taking action on the governance issues, the Trustees spent a
significant portion of the meeting reviewing updates on the academic program
with Provost Barry Scherr and
the academic deans. In her report to the Board, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Carol Folt noted that tenure-track faculty have increased by more than 50
positions since 2000. She noted that in the most recent academic year, median
class size declined to 16, and 65 percent of classes had fewer than 20
students. Dean Folt also reviewed with the Trustees faculty retention and
curriculum initiatives in writing and rhetoric, computational science, and life
sciences, among other areas
Following that review, the Board adopted a statement reaffirming its
commitment to maintaining the best possible learning environment, support for
the teaching and research missions of the faculty, and the importance of
Dartmouth graduate and professional programs in the academic life of the
College.
In other business at the meeting, the Board reviewed updates on the Campaign for the Dartmouth
Experience, which has raised almost $890 million toward its $1.3 billion
campaign goal. The Campaign's priorities include financial aid, an expansion of
the faculty, and increased support for the academic program.
Haldeman said that, "Dartmouth's great strength is rooted in the superb
quality of its academic program, and the Board is extremely pleased with
progress the College's leadership has continued to make in this critical area.
With President Wright's strong leadership of the College and the Board's new
Academic Affairs Committee, we will continue to focus intensely on further
strengthening Dartmouth's world-class educational experience."
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